Thieves
The Thieves are a community of proles that live in the slums which are normally on the edges of the residential area or on the east side of the Gunnedin Canal where infrastructure is very underdeveloped. They are aware of the conspiracies but are mostly powerless to do much about it. The thieves do not actually steal for their own survival. It is a name given by NGLUS to denigrate a community of people who have learnt to survive through their own means. Thieves have their own establishments and small farms in the slums on the east side of the canal whereas west side thieves scavenge from factories, farms and residential areas. East and west side thieves do often collaborate and share resources undetected by NGLUS. This is sometimes facilitated by Rook and Black Feather. Thieves are rather varied in terms of alignment, motivation and morals. The only thing that unifies them is that they are mostly unregistered and therefore do not live in accordance to NGLUS' regulations. Culture Thieves as a whole value self sufficiency skills. In west Gunnedin where most thieves live on the edges of prole residential areas, some even in the city centre though it is rare as that area is constantly patrolled. In the past, Gunnedin used to value self suffiency before NGLUS began trying to keep Gunnedines in line. Thieves teach each other survival skills tailored to their environment whether it be the built up residential districts or in the open stretches of desert of east Gunnedin. These skills include being able to find and grow food, making and mending clothes, how to make fires, freerunning, self defence against humans and animals, etc. One code that unites all thieves is that they do not steal but what constitutes stealing is entirely up to debate between the thieves and NGLUS. NGLUS controls the proles by limiting their food by throwing out excess food that is grown at the farms. Thieves will take the food that is discarded and though most would agree that that is not considered stealing, to NGLUS, it is theft. Killing and assassinations however appear to be perfectly within the moral code of some thieves because for them it is a method of earning money. Thieves live more communally than as nuclear families so they can share resources more readily and form closer bonds with their communities. Also it is not entirely possible to fit a nuclear family comfortably in an average house in a slum since they can only fit around 1-2 adults. Thieves do not celebrate the same holidays as proles such as Principality Day which to them is a day of remaining hidden from the military police. Some thieves celebrate their own holidays and traditions from before the Plague which is prohibited by NGLUS. Types of thieves Unter assassins Some thieves are desperate for work and find that assassinating under Unter is a suitable line of work for them. It does not require much of a moral compass and as long as you are not a registered citizen of Gunnedin, it is much harder to link you to any crimes. Of course, NGLUS owns Unter and by registering with Unter, you have basically signed your life and rights away to NGLUS anyways. Assassin thieves that work for Unter are either killed while on the job or marked for assassination after they resign. Despite being an extremely high risk job, it pays well which is why it is such an attractive option for thieves. Prize fighters Another way to earn money in the slums is to participate in prize fighting rings which are also incredibly rigged and indirectly controlled by NGLUS. Nevertheless it is an attractive method of earning money since winning a fight not only earns money but fans. Because of the lack of access to healthcare in the slums, losing a fight may result in lifelong injuries or death. These fights are usually rigged because the fighters that have a higher chance of winning are sponsored by gene therapy companies that will coerce fighters to get experimental procedures done for free. These fighters end up unwillingly becoming living advertisements for gene therapy procedures and bargaining chips for these companies. Black Feather thieves These thieves are not necessarily members of Black Feather since thieves as a whole do not tend to align themselves with any group or organisation too strictly but they are highly supportive of Black Feather's cause. Thieves that associate closely with Rook and the Queen of Thieves consider themselves aligned with Black Feather and benefit from the organisation as they can receive training, education, intel, protection and supplies. Black Feather thieves are sometimes not liked much by the thief communities because there are thieves that choose to avoid all organisations whether its cause benefits them or not. General thieves Many thieves are not as skilled and able bodied as the assassins and prize fighters either because of injury, sickness or just not willing or being able to take on a high risk occupation. These thieves operate farms and trade, scavenge for supplies, operate back alley medical practices, work in construction, etc. Most thieves have the skills to operate independently of NGLUS as Gunnedin used to teach during the Plague. Of course, NGLUS makes it harder for thieves to live but they are still able to manage communal living as thieves are generally rather unified. Notable thieves * Queen of Thieves * Rook (formerly) Category:People